Monkey Mia / Shark Bay

Monkey Mia is
a remote but very popular tourist destination located about 850 km north
of Perth in the World Heritage listed Shark Bay Marine Park.
Here you will find crystal blue waters and kilometres of pristine white
beaches
Main reason for people travelling to this faraway place is the daily
feeding of the bottlenose dolphins, they have been coming in for a free
feed for more than 40 years.
Department of Environment and Conservation rangers carefully supervise
the feeding process, touching the dolphins is not allowed to avoid any
transmission of disease.

There is accommodation here at the Monkey Mia
Dolphin Resort and you have a choice of transport options from flights
to campervans to car hire to extended guided tours from Perth.

While there are dolphin tours available in various places
around Australia, Monkey Mia is the only place where you can see them
for free, and with a 99.99% chance of seeing them.
With perfect blue skies and sunshine at least 300 days of the year, Monkey
Mia with its miles of unspoilt white sand beaches is a fantastic holiday
destination.
Coming face to face with a wild dolphin is an unforgettable magical experiencce,
and you can do it in comfort here, if you stay in the Monkey
Mia Dolphin Resort you only need to walk a few steps from
your room!

There are other activities and tours available here, including
cruising, sailing, snorkelling, beach camel rides and four wheel drive
tours. And when you are finished with your adventures you can rest and
relax in the resort's spring hot tub and licensed restaurants.

Mia is the Aboriginal term for home or shelter, while the
Monkey part of the name is allegedly derived from a pearling boat called
Monkey that anchored here in the late 19th century, during the days when
pearling was an industry in the region.

The area was originally used as a base for the pearling and fishing boats.
In the 1960s a fisherman and his wife began feeding Bottlenose Dolphins
when returning with their catch. As news of the dolphins coming to shore
spread, visitors flocked in to see them.
In 1985 an information centre was built and in 1988 a special state government
grant was provided to develop roads, carparks, and other facilities.

In November 1990, the waters adjoining Monkey Mia were declared a Marine
Park managed by the Department of Conservation and Land Management.

In more recent years, attention has been given to the Aboriginal history
of the area and the Aborigines' knowledge of the land, this resulted in
Aboriginal cultural tours being established, where tourists can get an
introduction to this ancient culture.

Dolphins are not the only animals you will see in Monkey Mia, pelicans
are also abundant.

Monkey Mia does not only have dolphins but also a population
of pelicans, these are amazing birds, in the picture above you can see
how they can stretch their beak open sideways, on our pelicans
page we have a movie of a pelican eating a duck !

Monkey Mia is also home to the Monkey Mia Dolphin research project where
researchers Richard Connor and Rachel Smolker have been studying the bottle
nose dolphins since 1982 and have attracted many scientists from around
the world.

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Stromatolites

Stromatolites
Photo by Froggy

The rocks pictured above are found in the Hamelin Pool Marine
Nature Reserve on the way to Monkey Mia.
At first glance they do not look overly exciting and it is not too long
ago that scientists discovered what they actually are, they include some
of the most ancient records of life on Earth!
According to the scientists these stromaltolites are layered accretionary
structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation
of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria
(commonly known as blue-green algae).
And because these "rocks" have been doing this pretty well ever
since our planet has existed, about 3.5 billion years or so, they are
like an aeroplane's black box to the scientists. About 1,250 million years
ago they were most abundant and nowadays they only survive in a few places
on earth, mostly in highly saline environments.

Stromatolites near Monkey Mia

Monkey Mia accommodation

Dolphins in Monkey Mia
Photo by Katrin Holmsten

Transport to Monkey
Mia

There is a wide choice of car rental companies where you
can book your car or campervan online to be assured of a car on your arrival
in Australia , and most offer one way rentals between major cities. Monkey
Mia is a long way from Darwin or Perth so you have a long drive ahead
of you. Nothing beats the freedom of having your own car to explore and
stop when and where you want.

Budget
Car Hire needs little introduction, the name says it all:
car hire at Budget Prices with a car hire company with an international
reputation, and this sites makes it even easier to find yourself a cheap
hire car, or anything else with wheels: trucks,buses, campervans, utes,
four wheel drives etc.

See Monkey Mia and W.A. in a campervan

Western Australia is the perfect place to travel with a
camper van! Wide open roads, countless beautiful spots to pull over and
camp, the freedom to go where and when you want.
Nothing beats finding your own camping spot in the wild, having a cold
beer admiring a wildly coloured outback sunset and a dinner cooked on
the campfire under the magnificent starry skies.

Discovery
Campervans is an Australian owned and operated company that
specialises in organising campervan rentals in Australia but also in New
Zealand.

Their fully qualified team handle your reservation queries
and overlook all rentals placed. The benefit to you of having a dedicated
team is that it provides a level of professionalism, product knowledge
and experience to ensure that your rental goes smoothly, and you can enjoy
your trip without any hassles. Yes, REAL People work here!

Discovery
Campervans has been built and developed with the support
and continuing assistance of the largest campervan rental companies in
both Australia and New Zealand....
By booking your campervan hire through the Discovery Campervans website,
you get to take advantage of our clever technology - showing up to date,
competitive comparitive prices - and have the security of renting with
established and leading brands in the campervan hire market.
Compare Britz, Maui, Backpacker, Kea and Apollo on one easy to use website.
Save Quotes, look at the layouts and full specifications and compare prices
and package inclusions.

If you are still in your home country then you will need
to get an international flight to Monkey Mia / Shark Bay, but international
airlines do not fly straight in to Shark Bay and you have to go via another
bigger city in Australia, such as Perth or Darwin.

Feel more comfortable to book your airfares to Monkey Mia
online with a travel business from your own country that you know and
trust?